CHINA’S dollar-denominated Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors (QFII) program saw its approved quota continue to rise in February, the country’s foreign exchange regulator said yesterday.

As of the end of February, the QFII quota stood at US$101.45 billion, up from US$101.35 billion a month ago, according to the State Administration of Foreign Exchange.

Meanwhile, the quota in the RMB Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors (RQFII) program came in at 660.47 billion yuan (US$98.6 billion).

The QFII and RQFII programs, introduced in 2003 and 2011, respectively, allow overseas institutional investors to move money into China’s capital account for investment.

At the end of January, the China Securities Regulatory Commission, the country’s securities regulator, started consulting public opinion on new rules that will combine the above two existing programs.

The State Administration of Foreign Exchange said in January that it would increase the quota for the QFII program to US$300 billion from US$150 billion to meet investment demand from abroad.

(SD-Xinhua)